Anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and other criminal activity

The establishment of an unauthorised encampment often results in some measure of local disruption, this is usually passive disruption e.g. loss of the land in question for the duration of the occupancy and damage to the land from the passage of vehicles.

In some instances there may be more active disruption such as minor damage to gates and barriers to allow entry to the site, the leaving of domestic rubbish and waste on the site, and not controlling animals such as dogs whilst occupying the land.

In the above instances the Council will deal with these matters through the repossession process and look to clean the land following the departure of the group.

In some instances however the occupants of an unauthorised encampment will be responsible in activity which may cause harassment, alarm or distress to individuals in the local community, which by definition is the basis for anti-social behaviour. Occasionally there may be some suggestion of criminal activity. Examples of these include trespassing on private property, verbal and threatening behaviour, theft of items and random damage to property. These matters should be referred directly to the Police for actioning. The Council is happy to receive notification of these matters and this will allow us to discuss future action with the Police.

The Police are responsible for ensuring there is no breach of the peace and investigating criminal activity and incidents of threats and threatening behaviour.

Call 999 in emergency situations like these:

• there is an immediate danger to life
• someone is using violence or is threatening to be violent
• a road traffic collision where life is at risk, or the road is blocked
• a crime is happening right now, like a house burglary or a theft

Call 101 for non-emergency enquiries or use the Police online reporting service.

Page last updated: 17 June 2025